Slicing machine



Jan. 9, 1940. w. A. VAN BERKEL SLICING MACHINE Filed Marches, 193s 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 9, 1940.

W. A. VAN BERKEL SLICING MAC'HINE Filed March 26, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 9, 1940. w. A. VAN BERKEL.

SLICING MACHINE Filed March 26, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 a mi Jan. 9, 1940.

w. A. VAN BERKEL- sucme MACBINE Filed-March 2'6, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Z/ZZ/zehzud van jar/02L Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel, Clarens, Switzerland, assignor to Ur S. Slicing Machine Company, La Porte, Enii. ,acorporation of Indiana Applieatiolri March 26, 1936, Serial No. 71,033 1 In GreatBritaln April .5, 1935 I I Z Claims. (Cl. Mfr-94). I A I I I This invention relates to slicing machines, and. mechanism; whereby slices of variousitllicknesses' particularly .to slicing "machines having the cutmay becut. 3 v ting knife thereof inclinedto the horizontal; more 'Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View ofithe gauge specifically the invention relates to a slicing mar-T re at ns mecha ism a d operates p p 5 chine having" an inclined carriage and an intimed relationship with the mechanism shown'in 5 clined knife and means-for operating said, e1e-' F l l 1 I ments. i I I Fig. 6 isa detail plansectionshowing one form The primary ob ectorthe-invention is to bro i g plate n n which y b vide a slicingmaehine which is constructed and p y Carrying Out the Objects n- 10 arranged with an inclined food table, whereby 1 10 food may beadvanced by feed mechanism or fed Fig. .7' is aview similar to Fig. 6 but S W a by gravity to a rotatably mounted knife which mOdifi'edi fOIm f knifa guard Plate. v is inclined to the horizontal but which has "its Fig. 8 is adetail elevetional vi w one f cutting-plane perpendicular to the plane of" the f Stacker mechanism and its CQ p flycarriagewherebyslices of, substance cut may be f Fig. 9 is a detail viewof'the'stacker media-.15 deposited on a slicereeeiver'or stacking element nism Shown. n Fig 8' and looking in the direcwhichoperates in tir'ned relationship with the op- 111011 the L WST -+9 OfF g. 82 I eration of the "carriage, I F I I Figy'll'lis atransverse; scctionalview' on the Another ohiect oi the invention is'to provide a line v v r slicing machine wl'lerebyjs ulostan'ce onthe car ll'ifi Ewdeiail end elevation'paltly'ili Q.

'35 the arrangement-1- :and construction. of parts sfiacedrguides riage may be fed ina new andnovel manner and 1 o h one r 0f=s1ice receivins h I r regulated to provide slices of predetermined ni'sm which may QY l thicknesses. 1 I Fig. 1-2 is a detailsectional-view on the line Another object of the invention is to provide of Fig. 11. I s a new and novel substance support and feeding Figl N sectwnalvlew 0f o of t 25 mechanisi'n whereby substance may be positively operatiile p of h sli e elements fed to the slicing plane oithe slicingmachine. Shown 111 g- 1 I Still another object is'i tl l'e provision of a slicevFig- 14 is a e Sectlonal W On e 1 9 receiving element'orslice stacker soconstructect F f-l I I I I I so and arrangedthat' slices be arranged there- I s e sllcmemechl-ne herem Shown r the en in stacked relationship, or in staggered relapose s a i comprlses; a port s-s I tionship depending linen the movementand eeu w h in s a n d ba A justnlellt of the slice receiver orstacker; carriage 3, whichisalso inclined asclearly. shown. Another object of the inventionconsists' in. in 1, adapted to be reclpmcated' along I A circulanrevolublywhereby substenceiniayibe ied to the cutting m 33; knife 1S pr p y jm e n plane f th knif hd h slices-are u there, a knife-supporting bracket 7 which is secured .tofrom maybe stacked or supported me new and the b 'aj Q L novel-manner, therebeing means-provided Where- T ar e provided ub s 40 by the substance may he fed-to the cutting plane. Q P time. P- fi han 40 Numerous other objects and advantages" will clmatlon of m f tmrfiy be apparent throughout" the progress of the folhorizontal} m ISLSG sltuated l is ifi' q npifi ti fl rotatable maplane at rightangles to the 1n- 1 lination-ofthe carriage that isthe slicing plane The accom ailylng drawings illustrates. selectd "embodiment of t h invention and the views OI the ls inclmed about slxty degrees to I l :i'f the: horizontal, Fig. v1. e-rem are as 0 'rlijs carria e 3 and the knife 6 my be on- 1 1S fist end elemngn'of m eratedir'i' any convenient manner, but are herein 2 9d$ 5 f mi I shown as: being operated byfa manually turn- II i :dfiiflfi e n on them? able hand Wheel a, which isconnected to'a shaft 50 ..--r. 61 Fig. l. I I I It. The 'shaft'lil hasconnected theretoa bevel Fi is a d tail n udi a i i w gear 1 l,-Fig.' 3, which in turn-meshes with a on li o F IL I I cooperating} bevel gear l2 mounted on a short Fig. 4' is e deteilsectiohalView through certain crankshaft 13r- Acrank M,- driven by the shaft elemehtscontrolling the operation-cf the-feeding l3; isoperatively connected to and operatesa connecting rod i5. A lever I5 is pivoted to a part of the base 2 as indicated at H, Fig. 3, and pivotally connected to the connecting rod l5 as indicated at l8, Fig. 3.

The lever I5 is in turn coupled by a link Hi to a bracket on the under side of the carriage 3. The knife shaft is driven through chain and sprocket gearing 20, Fig. 1, from a countershaft' 2!, Fig. 3, which is driven through chain and. sprocket gearing .22 from the crankshaft I3.

The substance-supporting portion 8 of the car riage 3 may be substantially L=shaped and provided with corrugations 23, Figs. 2 and 3. A substance engager 24 is adapted-to operate alternately as a clamp or as a pusher. Teeth 25 may be provided on the pushing surface of the substance engager 24 when the same is used as a pusher, while teeth 25 may be formed along one or more edges of the engager 24 when the same is to be used as a clamp. This substance engager 24 is secured to a sleeve 21 which is slidable along a post 28. The substance engager 24 may be locked to the post 2'! in any convenient manner, such as by a locking ring 29. An auxiliary post 30 serves to prevent, rotation of the sleeve 21 on the main post 28. The posts 28 and 3ll'are mounted on a support 3|, Fig. 3, which.

is slidable along guide bars 32 and 33 rigid with a part of the carriage 3, Fig. 3. The substance engager is adapted to move substances, Fig. 1, in step-by-step feed movement, deriving this motion from a feed screw 34, Fig. 3, through the intermediary of a feed screw nut 35 which meshes with the screw 34 and which may be withdrawable at will therefrom.

The step-by-step feeding movement of the'substance engager 24 is controlled and operated by the mechanism shown principally in Fig. 2 and com rises a gear wheel 35, Fig. 2, which is fixed to the feed screw 34. An idler gear wheel 31 meshes with the gear 35 and has meshing relationship with a rack 38. The idler gear 31 is journaled in a bracket 39 which comprises two spaced plates pivotally mounted on the feed screw 34. The bracket 39 is associated with a tumbler 40 which 'is journaled on' the shaft of the idler gear 31. This tumbler is arranged to cooperate with a cam-like slide 4!, Fig. 2, which is secured to a slide bar 42, on which the rack 38 is mounted. The bar 42 is slotted longitudinally to receive pins 43 and 44 screwed in the bracket 45 on the base 2. The bar 42 is provided with another rack 46 which meshes with an idler gear wheel 41 journaled in the base 2. The idler 4? meshes with a gear wheel 48 secured to a manually adjustable tube 49, Figs. 2 and 5. The parts are so constructed and arranged that turning movement of the tube 49 will effect proportionate longitudinal displacement of the rack 45 and the slide 4|.

The bracket 39 and the carriage 3 have abutment pins 50 and 5|; respectively, Fig. 2, the pin 50 cooperating with the tumbler 49 and the pin 5| cooperating with a projection 52 on the bracket. The parts are so constructed that at the beginning of each slicing stroke of the carriage 3, Fig. 2, the bracket 39 rests uponthe pin 5i, as shown in solid lines at the right of Fig. 2. During movementof the carriage the tumbler 45 will slide idly upon the slide 4! and the idler 31 will mesh with the rack 38. Feed movement therefore is imparted to the feed screw 34 and thence to the substance engager 24 through the intermediary of the parts constituting the feeding element. The feed period of the substance slope 53 of the slide M, Fig. 2.

engager 24 terminates when the idler 3? moves from the rack 38. During movement of the carriage when the same has reached a predetermined positiomthe bracket 39 and the tumbler 49 will assume the position designated by the letter A, Fig. 2. The tumbler 43 will be off of the slide 4i and will fall by its own Weight towards the pin 59 on the bracket 39. I

As the carriage 3 approaches the end of its return stroke, the tumbler 49 will engage the The tumbler, when it engages the slope 53, will lift the bracket 39v 2. suificient distance away from the pin 5% to insure that the idler 3'5 will be free from the rack 38. The parts When'assuming this latter position are indicated by the letter B, Fig. 2. During the initial portion of the next forward movement of the carriage 3 to perform the slicing stroke the tumbler 49 will move from the position shown in B to its original position away from the pin 50, there being sufficient frictional engagement between the slide 4i and the tumbler 40 to cause thelatter to drag and rotate relative to the bracket 39 from the position B as shown in solid lines at the right of Fig. 2.

The bracket 39 then falls upon and is supported by the pin 51 causing the idler gear 31 to again mesh with the rack 38.

In order to assure proper positioning of the substance, and further to insure the proper cutting of the first full slice, a gauge plate 54, Figs. 1, 6, and '7, may be provided. This gauge plate 54-is secured to a bracket 55, which bracket is mounted upon a non-rotatable but longitudinally movable adjusting rod55, Fig. 5. The adjusting rod passes through the previously mentioned adjustment tube, 49, Fig. 5. The rod 55 cooperates with a guide 51, Figs. 6 and 7, to support the bracket 55' and the gauge plate 54.

The gauge'plate 54 cooperates with a knife guard plate 58, Fig. 7, and this guard plate 58 is set ina manner as shown in Fig. 6 where the knife is skewed or inclined from the normal cutting edge. This guard plate 58 masks that portion of the knife edge which is opposite to the portion necessarily exposed for the slicing operation. Where the knife is set parallel to the left-hand edge of the carriage in a line with the stroke of the carriage indicated as C, Fig. '7, the guard plate 58 may be-inset within a circular recess bounded by the knife rim, Fig. 7.

The gauge plate 54 serves as a means for positioning the substance preparatory to the slicing operation, as wellas being available as an alternative construction for the mechanical feed. The use of the gauge plate is especially useful when the substance is so small or short that it cannot be conveniently clamped by the teeth 25 of the substance-engaging element 24. In this alternative arrangement the substance engager 24 may be lowered and used as a pusher. The gauge plate 54 is adjustable to and from the slicing plane so that slices of desired thickness may be had. The gauge'plate 54 is adapted to be controlled by a hand-operated member .or wheel 59, Figs. 1, 4, and 5, and this hand-controlled member 59 is provided with control means for setting the feeding mechanism. The hand member 59, Fig. 4, is normally held against rotation by a fixed stop 59, which is fastened to base 2 but the member 59 can be withdrawn from the stop 59 against the'pressure of a spring 5!, Fig. 4. Clutch teeth 52 serve to lock the band member 59 to the adjustment tube 48 so that the hand member and tube are maintained relative- Til tity of slices increases on the stacker, ment is provided in the bracket i9. The bracket 1y non-rotatable. A screw 63 is. formed at the.

end of the non-rotatable rod and is -.adap.ted to engage with an internally screwed portion. 6.4

of the tube 3.9. .Thearrangenient is such that.

rotation of the hand member 559 will effect similar rotation of the tube 48. Such rotation is accompanied by a proportionate displacement of the rack 38 and the slide 4-! of the feeding mechanism. Lengthwise displacement of the rod 56 causes similardisplacement of the gauge plate 54. Therefore it can be readily seen that when the hand member .59 is rotated the internal shaft is translated or moved longitudinally, and such longitudinal movement of the rod 55 causes movement of the gauge plate 54 towards and away from the cutting plane of-the slicing machine. A plurality of graduations 85,

Figs. 1 and 4, maybe provided on the hand Wheel 59 to cooperate with a fixed pointer Fig. 1, to form indicating means defining slice thickness.

A slice support or stacker element 66, Fig. l, is adapted to be located adjacent-the knife to receive slices as they are being cut. This slice receiver is preferably conical in shape, that is in theshape e: a frustum of a cone, the outer surface of the cone of course being inclined, the inclined surface adjacent-the knife having the same inclination as the knife; It has been found that this surfaceshould be at the same inclination as the knife, which is approximately sixty degrees from the horizontal, Fig. 1. This.

slice support or stacker 65 may be provided with a slice retaining rim 61, Fig. -1. 1 A shaft for the cone stacker 66 is rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing 68, which is "attached to a bracket 69 fixed. to the base 2. A pulley T!) is fastened to the shaft of the. cone stacker and is driven by an elastic belt H, which belt is driven by a pulley 12 on the shaft. m, Fig. l. .A tightener.

pulley i3 is provided to take up the slack in the belt H. I

In order that the slice receiver or can be displaced from theknife as stacker 66' the quanan adjust- 39 comprises. a footstep bearing slidably arranged on the bracket .69 and includes arack M which meshes with a pinion l5. Theshaft of the pinion is journaledin. the bracket and this shaft is 66' is such that, during the operationof thev turnable either manually ormechanically to displace the slice receiver or stacker 66. By the use of an elastic belt, such as anextensiblehelica1 spring, the adjustment. of the cone stacker 56 {with respect to the knife '8 is permitted.

The arrangement of theslice receiver or. stacker slicing machine, the .stacker 66 will. haveim+ par-ted to it continuous unidirectional rotation. During-the cutting of the slices, each slice cut by'the knife will drop-from thexknife to the rotating conical surface of the stacker withoutvany substantial change in inclination. The rate,

of rotation of the stacker lit relatively to the rate: of reciprocation of the carriage team be arranged so that all the slices will collect-in a single pile or they willbe arranged in overlapped, shingled position.

In Figs. -8 to 10, inclusive,-there is shown a modified form of stacker which can be substituted for the stacker or slice receiver til. This modified former stacker comprises a cone-shapedmember l6, 9 to 10, having .a plurality of spaced horizontal grooves 11.." This stacker l5. ,rnay be rotated in the same manner asthe stacker 6.6. but is provided with a cam 1.8 which is adapted to operateacfly l9 pivotally :mounted at toa part 81 on'the base 2. Thefiy maybe mounted on a horizontal rod-8.3, therebeing an extension 84 on the fly. The extension carries a roller 85 which is adapted to roll on the camway 18 to move the fly away. irom the conical surface of the stacker '56. A spring 86 normally holds the roller 85 against the cam and consequently the fly 1-9 towards the cone with its arm 8'!v 3t vary in length asclearly shown in Fig. 8.-

The fingers 88 are adapted to lie within the recesses or corrugations I1, ofthecone. There- :fore when .a slice is out it will fall upon a surface of cone 16 and as the cone rotates will passover the fingers 88. When the slices on the cone reach a predetermined position, that is when the cone has rotated a suflicient distance to a predetermined position, the fly will be caused to operate because the roller 35 will be operated by the cam 13.. As soon as the slices are discharged frorn the echo, the roller 85 will be off the carnway 1-8 and the fly will again fall in place, that is the fingers 88 will lie in the corrugations H. or course it is practical that the fingers .88 be curved as clearly shown in Fig. 10.

The discharge :fly 19 maybe operated by the slicing machine mechanism and the arrangement is such that the fly 'is timed to'perform a down Wardv discharging movement about its axis at the instant'jwhen the slice is conveyed by the conelt. into proper registration with the fingers 8t. -When this latter stacker and fly are provided, a suitable receptacle or tray is stationed receive the slices as they are part cylindrical body WI and is arranged at an inclination as clearly shown in Fig. 11, beingadaptedto rotate to and fro. The slice support not is secured toan inclinedshaft I02. The shaft [62 has a disk-shaped base [03, Fig. 14,

which is I pivotally attached at .194 to the head ms of a rotatable sleeve N35. The sleeve W6 is journalcd. into a bearing bracket I07, Figs. 11 and 13, which is mounted 'on the base 2 of the machine. vThe base 593 has an adjustable screw stop 7 I88 which cooperates with an abutmerit H39, Fig. 13, on the sleeve. Hit The base N13 has notches llil in its periphery, which notches are engageableone at a time by the pointed end of a stationary vertical .rod Hi. This vertical rod HE is mounted on a footstep bracket H2 and passes through the sleeve. Hi6.

The sleeve has a'bott'om flange H3, Fig. 13, and is urged by a spring I M in a downwarddirection towards a driven: bevel gear wheel H5.

The flange H3 has a driving pin H6 engageablev with a hole I ll in the gear wheel 5 l5. The normal working arrangement is such that the gearwheel H5 drives the sleeve W6 and the slice support.

ii!!! above it.

Thenature of the drive imparted to the gear w l eel H5 is such that the slice support Hit receives a to-and-fro movement in unison with that of the carriage 3. The gear wheel H5 meshes with'a bevel'pinion H8 on a rockshaft H9; Fig. l1,*wh'ich is journaled in the machine,

base 2. The rockshaft II9 has an actuating arm I20, which is arranged to cooperate with an inclined cam I2I on the carriage 3, the arm I20 being displaceable by the cam IZI against the action of a return spring I22. This spring I22 is wound around a pulley I23 secured to the rockshaftandwhich is anchored at I24, Fig. 12, to the base 2. This arrangement permits reciprocation of the carriage 3, and during reciprocation the driven gear wheel I I8 receives corresponding oscillation. This arrangement permits the shaft I02 with the slice support I00 to be displaced a small angle away from the knife 6 until the end of the rod Iii engages with the other of a notch H0. This displacement causes the sleeve I06 to rise and fall slightly but not sufiiciently to affect the driving relationship between the slice support and the machine. This displacement makes room for additional slices upon the member IOI. The construction described also permits the slice support to be displaced still further away from the knife to an extent determined by the stops I08 and I00. When the slice support is so displaced it will occupy a substantially horizontal position and the act of displacement forces a raised portion I25, Fig. 13, of the base to ride upon the end of the rod III, with the result that the sleeve I06 is raised sufficiently to draw the pin H6 out of the hole III. Thus the slice support is no longer driven, that is it will occupy an inoperative position, and the remoteness of the slice support I00 from the slicing knife 6 will enable the operator to remove the slices in a convenient manner free from danger.

The present invention is applicable to machines of the so-called push-and-pull class wherein the stroke may be varied at the will of the operator.

The knife may be driven by an electric motor, or

the'machine may be operated by a crank and connecting rod, or the whole apparatus may be electrically operated. However, the invention relates primarily to a substance carrier or stacker which has an inclined surface adapted to receive slices cut from a knife which is inclined to the horizontal. In cooperation with this mechanism, a gravity feed means may be provided for the substance, or the substance may be mechanically fed, spring fed, or hand fed.

The invention provides relatively simply constructed machine of few parts, whereby the inclined knife, cooperating with the inclined surface of the stacker, permits the slices to assume practically the position they assume when being cut from the substance.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A slicing machine comprising an inclined substance supporting carriage, a slicing knife inclined to the horizontal adjacent the carriage and substantially perpendicular to the inclined plane of the carriage, a slice receiving element having a surface inclined at an angle substantially equal to the angle of inclination of said knife, said slice receiving element being adja" cent said knife and being angularly shiftable about an axis transverse to the axis of the slicing knife and movable toward and from the cutting plane of said knife,.means for moving the substance supporting carriage relative to the slic- 2. A slicing machine comprising a base, a substance supporting carriage reciprocable upon the base, and means for feeding the substance transversely of the carriage, said means comprising a feed screw carried by said carriage, driven means carried by said carriage and movable relative thereto for operating said feed screw, driving means on said base for moving said driven means relative to the carriage, and cam means including an element adjustably mounted on the base and an element mountedon the carriage for connecting said driving means to said driven means upon initial movement of the carriage in one direction and for disconnecting the driving and driven means upon movement of the carriage a predetermined distance in said direction.

3. A slicing machine comprising a base, a sub stance supporting carriage reciprocable upon the base, and means for feeding the substance transversely of the carriage, said means comprising a feed screw carried by said carriage, a gear shiftably mounted on said carriage and connected to said feed screw, a rack adjustably mounted on said base, and means for shifting said gear into and out of engagement with said rack whereby to move the feed screw a predetermined distance upon movement of the carriage.

4. A slicing machine comprising a base, a substance supporting carriage recip rccable upon base, and means for feeding the substance transversely of the carriage, said means comprising a feed screw carried by said carriage, a gear shiftably mounted on said carriage and connected to said feed screw, a rack adjustably mounted on said base, and interengaging cam means associated with said rack and said gear for moving said gear into and out of engagement with said rack upon movement of said carriage.

5. A slicing machine comprising a substance supporting carriage, a slicing knife adjacent the carriage, a slice receiving element adjacent the knife, said slice receiving element being oscillatable about an axis transverse to the axis of the slicing knife, and means for oscillating said slice receiving element about its axis transverse to the axis of the knife to receive and properly stack thereon slices cut by said knife, said means comprising an actuating lever connected to the slice receiving element and an inclined cam carried by the carriage.

6. A slicing machine comprising an inclined substance supporting carriage, a slicing knife inclined to the horizontal adjacent the carriage and substantially perpendicular to the inclined plane of the carriage, a semi-cylindrical slice receiving element, said slice receiving element being bodily shiftable toward and from the cutting plane of the knife about a substantially horizontal axis and being oscillatable about an axis transverse to said last mentioned axis, an actuating lever connected to said slice receiving element, an inclined cam carried by the substance supporting carriage for operating said lever in timed relation to the'movement of the carriage for oscillating said slice receiving element about the transverse axis, and means for causing bodily move- 10 and being oscillatable about an axis transverse to said lastmentioned axis, an actuating lever connected to said slicereceiving' element, and an .inclined' cam carriedby the substance supporting' carriage for operating said'lever in timed relation to the movement of the carriage for oscillating said slice receiving element about the transverse axis, and means for causing bodily movement of said slice receiving element about said horizontal axis as the slices accumulate thereon.

WILHELMUS ADRIANUS 'vm BERKEL. 1 

